Good Morning Hanoi, Vietnam!

12 - 13 February 2015

I know...its a corny title for the blog, but I couldn't help it.  We woke up in Vietnam after an awesome nights sleep on a nice soft bed.  We went downstairs for the included breakfast which included a buffet plus a made-to-order menu.  So far Vietnam is treating us perfect.

While doing research on Hanoi I came across a picture of a lake with parts of a B-52 that was shot down during the Vietnam War...or as they call it here, the American War.  My thoughts for the first day is to take a taxi to this site and then walk  our way back to the hotel and see some of the other sites.  The hotel called a taxi and told us that based on where we wanted to go it should cost around 60,000 Dong.  Speaking about Dong....check out how cool these bills are...they feel like plastic and I love the clear windows:

For your information, the current exchange rate is around 21,000 Dong for $1 USD.  To make things easier for daily calculation we say that $1 USD equals 20,000 Dong.  So...back to the taxi ride...the cost should be around $4 USD.  Anyway...we get into the taxi and I show the driver a map and point to where I want to go...well...to be completely honest...I pointed off the map to the area where I wanted to go.  The driver nodded his head and we were off.  As the meter hit 50,000 Dong he pulled over and made a call and then asked me to take the phone.  The person asked where I wanted to go and I told them about the lake and the B-52 and explained where I thought it was.  The driver took the phone back and then continued driving.  When the meter rolled past 60,000 and approach 90,000 ($4.50 USD) I told him that we wanted to get out.  He pulled over and pointed on the map where we were.  I figured we can just ask people where this "B-52 lake" was.

So...we get out of the taxi and start walking down the road.  WOW...the traffic here in Hanoi is crazy, especially since we haven't been in a large city like this since we left Bangkok almost 2 months ago.  Anyway...we wandered the streets trying to ask people where this B-52 was but no one seemed to speak English.  Then I noticed this sign:

No English, but I do recognize the word "bia" being "beer" and the picture of the kegs, so in we went and ordered 2 mugs followed by 2 more mugs:

While drinking our beers I noticed a white guy at another table and asked him if you knew of this B-52 he said he did and found on his phone the exact location...we were only 15 minutes away.

After paying our bill of 30,000 Dong ($1.40 UDS) for 4 mugs of beer...that's $0.35 for a mug of beer!!!!...we walked to where the guy told us to go.  We didn't come across the "B-52 lake", but we did come upon the "B-52 Victory Museum":

For those military folks that might be more interested in this place, here is a YouTube video I made.  Oh, the vietnamese statement on the missile control station translated says, "Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom!"

In case one military museum wasn't enough, we came across and had to stop at the Vietnam Military History Museum.  Although the museum covers the entire history of Vietnam military history, it seemed that most of the exhibits focus on fighting for independence from France and fighting the US during the Vietnam War.  Here are a few of the highlights from this museum:

A sign claims that this is a B-52D that was shot down on 27 December 1972.

A sign claims that this MiG-21 was flown by 12 pilots that shot down 14 US aircraft during the Vietnam War.

The Hanoi Flag Tower, part of the Hanoi Citadel.

We then walked back to the hotel during rush hour where the streets were full of motorbikes:

That's a lot of scooters.

Next on the agenda is a food tour of Hanoi.  It was a little pricy but we figured we would splurge for the private tour so we would know what to look for during the next month in Vietnam.  Here is all the food we ate:

1. Trung ngai cuu : fried egg with ngai cuu leaf

4.Bun cha : vermicelli with grilled pork and light fish sauce; 5. Hanoi Beer

7. Banh bao : dumpling cake

9. Bia hoi : local draught beer - Costs $0.25!!!

10. Goi cuon : fresh spring roll with shrimp; 11. Tara: green tea

2. Nom du du bo bo kho : green papaya salad with dry beef

3. Pho ga tron : mixed chicken noodle with fish sauce

6.Hoa qua dam : mixed fruit with coconut milk and condensed milk

8. Thit xien nuong : grilled pork with lemongrass

12. Cha ca ha noi : grilled fish in hanoi style; 13. Dau phu sot ca chua : tofu with tomato sauce; 14. Dalat wine

A two hour tour with 14 different tastes of Vietnam...WOW!  A great ending to a great first day in Vietnam.

After a late night out (we didn't get back to the room until around 10:00 PM...I know...we are lame) we slept in, had breakfast, and went back to the room for a little downtime.  We finally left the room just after noon and headed out for a walking tour that is advertised to be just over 2 miles and take around 2 hours.  For us it took 5 hours and we probably walked at least 4 miles...these streets are very confusing and it is very, very easy to get very, very lost.

Here are some highlights of our walking tour:

Gate to Ngoc Son Temple

Says something like, "Death is the sacrifice for country"

Sides of pigs

Crazy electrical wiring

Cua O Quan Chuong, Old East Gate.

Here kitty kitty

Me playing tour guide for the day.

Our view from lunch restaurant

Package delivery

Here are two videos taken on the streets of Hanoi for your viewing pleasure:

After the 2 hour tour that took 5 hours we attended the famous water puppet show.  I couldn't take any pictures during the show, so I borrowed the first one from Wikipedia.  The second I did manage to take when the puppeteers came out for a bow:

After the puppet show we ate dinner on our way back to the hotel by snacking on street food and then called it a night.  Tomorrow we have to wake up early to get on a bus that is taking us to Halong Bay for a 2-night cruise.  We can't wait!